EL PASO — A Dallas truck driver arrested at the border with a cargo of ammunition is an innocent man, a victim of making a wrong turn that landed him in Mexico’s deadliest city, his mother insisted Tuesday.

“This was truly an honest mistake, and I had to come here to tell the world that my son is not a criminal,” said Aletha Smith. Her son, Jabin Bogan, 27, has been jailed in Mexico since April 17, when he crossed the border with a shipment of 260,000 rounds of rifle ammunition.

“He had no plans of going into Mexico,” his mother said. “He doesn’t even have a passport. … My son is innocent, and I’m here pleading the mercy of the Mexican government to find it in their heart of hearts to let my baby come home, to let my son come home.”

Smith traveled from Dallas to the border accompanied by her son’s girlfriend, Tanya Davis, and his employer to make her plea and to meet with attorney Carlos Spector. She was able to speak with her son by phone Tuesday for the first time since his arrest and said he sounded “good for the most part.”

Bogan told his mother he had not been tortured, a common practice in Mexico, and was in good spirits. He is in federal prison in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, charged with bringing ammunition illegally into Mexico. He faces up to 30 years in prison.

As she spoke, Mexican federal authorities called Spector to request documents for an appeal, a “hopeful” sign, Spector said.

“Our concern is Jabin becoming a hot potato between both governments,” he said. “This is a welcome sign from the Mexican government at the highest levels.”

Bogan’s employer, Dennis Mekenye of Demco Express, said Bogan was transporting the ammunition from a manufacturer in Johnson City, Tenn., and was headed to Phoenix. He took a wrong turn off Interstate 10 and suddenly found himself headed into Ciudad Juárez and unable to make a U-turn. Mexican federal customs officials seized the truck and ammunition.

Drug-related violence has killed more than 50,000 people in Mexico during President Felipe Calderón’s term in office, often with guns and bullets from the United States. The issue is so sensitive in Mexico that Calderón unveiled a billboard in Juárez in March made with material from seized guns.

Smith, 57, said she struggled to make ends meet and send her son to St. Philip’s elementary school and later Hillcrest High School in Dallas. He played quarterback and attended church, serving on the board. He worked at a warehouse in Dallas before getting his opportunity to drive the roads he dreamed of as a boy. He’s worked at Demco for nearly four years.

“He’s a good, humble boy,” Smith said. “I have a lot of faith and have met some good people along this sad journey.”

One of them, she said, is Kevin Huckabee, father of Shohn Huckabee, an American who served more than two years in a Mexican jail on drug charges before being transferred to the United States and later released. Kevin Huckabee said he volunteered to help Bogan “because I promised myself that I didn’t want to see another parent go through what I went through.”

Huckabee said he sees parallels between the Bogan case and his son’s, beginning with the charge of smuggling ammunition for automatic weapons. Not true, he said.

“These are known as Winchester ammo and are common with sportsmen, not with Mexican hit men,” Huckabee said. “This doesn’t cut muster. But this is probably the strongest evidence. All the proof is in Jabin’s side.”